Brilliant
by ToxicPineapple
Summary: "Hannah wondered if she really wanted to do this. If rekindling the feelings for Neville that had felt so strong in her seventh year was a good idea." Hannah Abbott had fancied Neville Longbottom for a year- but after years of loneliness and hard work, she thought those feelings died. When he suddenly appears back in her life, she decides it might be time to give it another try.


_Author's note: Not gonna lie; I've always shipped Neville and Luna. But I think it would be an interesting way to give body to some ships that are slightly less explicit- that including Neville and Hannah._

 _Hope you enjoy this one!_

* * *

 _Brilliant_

 _"Love is when the other person's happiness is more important than your own." -H. Jackson Brown Jr._

* * *

The moon casted a light silver glow down on the lake, reflected against the shimmering surface that shone black with the darkness of the night. It was a full moon, Hannah Abbott realized, as she brought her knees to her chest.

It was a funny thing to seek the water's edge in times of sadness. But the rippling of the water as traced the surface with her thumb sent ripples of reassurance down her spine; she smiled.

It wasn't likely for her to have dabbled in the ways of love. In fact, she knew little to nothing about the word- or about the experiences. The closest she'd had to romantic experience was when she'd given Ernie MacMillan a _platonic_ peck on the cheek in joy of the end of the war. She had felt the feelings before, revolving around a rather unpopular classmate- but that was years ago.

Ernie himself had in fact moved on to work in the Ministry of Magic, joined by none other than Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. He'd always done well in school, Hannah reflected with a bitter smile that looked rather like a grimace. So well, in fact, that he'd left her behind.

He had been her best friend. Surely she was right to be at least a little ticked...?

Yet, as she stared at the full moon, she knew that her anger was unjustified. It had been her decision to pull away from Ernie when he landed the position- not his. She'd felt ashamed at her own uselessness and inability to be remotely intelligent. Her best subject at Hogwarts was Herbology, and she wasn't entirely certain that she knew how to pursue that career anymore-

Not that it mattered. She had a _lovely_ job volunteering at the Leaky Caudron and learning from Tom. He was a rather kind man, come to think of it...but it was rather dull work, and she knew it wouldn't last forever. She was bound to come across something she disliked about it just as she had with her previous occupations- journalist, librarian, Muggle police officer...

Despite all of this, Hannah knew she had no reason to be sulking on a beautiful night like this. She ought to get up and go to sleep, if she wasn't going to make productive use of her time...

All of her thoughts scattered when she heard footsteps behind her. Her breath caught in her throat and her hand immediately sprung to her wand- really, she knew there was no point as she considered herself to be rubbish at defense spells- and as she flipped around, eyes wide and alert.

She had expected to see some sort of threat- or any sort of threat. To her surprise, however, she found herself staring up into the large brown eyes of Neville Longbottom.

Hannah was so surprised to discover him standing there that she gasped and fell backwards, nearly landing in the pond. Her cheeks flushed automatically, her heartbeat sped up as she stared at him, eyes widened. It was the sort of reaction she'd had every time they spoke during their seventh year at Hogwarts...but that was _years_ ago.

"Oh- sorry Hannah, didn't mean to frighten you!" Neville sputtered, reaching down and offering her a hand. "I just saw you sitting out here in the dark and wondered- uh- well, Luna reckoned I ought to come out here and talk- because- well that's not important- but- I was just wondering- would you like some company?"

His speech was so halted and clearly unplanned that Hannah laughed, taking his outstretched hand. He was no less awkward than he'd been when they last met. She smiled fondly at the memories; that was back when she'd had everybody around her. Back when she'd l-

"I'd _love_ some company," she replied, cutting off her own thoughts. "How are you, Neville? It's been ages!"

"I've been okay," Nevile smiled sheepishly as he pulled her up. "I've been helping Professor Sprout at Hogwarts, so I've been seeing a lot of the old gang recently. Harry's always dropping by to visit, Hermione too, but Ron is always too busy scaring first years to get into any reminiscing."

Hannah, who was still smiling, laughed slightly. "Really? How's Professor Sprout doing? And McGonagall? Is everything getting on okay?"

"They have a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher going steady, so I guess they're fine in that area. Pomona- she asked me to call her by her first name- is ruddy brilliant. McGonagall's got her work cut out for her, but she's managing so far under the load. It's unbelievable that there haven't been any Weasley twins running around, though."

"Excellent! I'm glad to know it's going okay." Hannah beamed. She felt her heart give a little excited flutter when Neville returned the smile. _Stop that,_ she chided herself. _You decided you've gotten over Neville already. No need to-_

"How are you?" Neville asked, a familiar note of apprehension present in his voice. "Ernie says he misses you; like you kind of disappeared." Hannah frowned. "But then Hermione says you probably have some emotional things going on right now and we shouldn't ask after you- then Ron asks what she means, so she rolls her eyes and says that you fancied me- I don't _think_ that's true-" Hannah flushed, glad for the limited light outside. "-so Ron calls bull crap and waves a card around, during which moment Hermione throws a sock at his head, and they start arguing, then Harry leaves the room, and Ernie says that he didn't mean to start this, and Harry yells from the next room that Ron and Hermione just like a good chance to argue, which shuts them both up, but Ron laughs, and then everybody's laughing- but we all miss you, Hannah. Where've you been?"

Hannah, who was giggling, tried to contemplate her answer. "Er, around. Working at the Leaky Caudron. I lost touch with Ernie-" Purposefully. "-but I don't reckon it's anything to worry about."

"You should come visit the ministry with me tomorrow!" Neville said abruptly. "Everybody misses you, Hannah, especially Susan! She's been remarkably successful at the ministry herself, and everybody has so much to talk about!"

Hannah gaped, speechless. While seeing her old friends again would definitely be a good cure for her loneliness, she knew that everybody's success would just make her feel bad. She, after all, had hardly been able to succeed in anything upon leaving Hogwarts. And part of her felt, also, that her presence would aid in making them feel down as well...

Yet, as Neville stared at her with those large brown eyes...she couldn't help but remember just how heroic he'd been during her seventh year...

"Alright, then." Hannah whispered. "Sounds like fun. I'd love to visit everybody."

"Great!" Neville beamed, then pulled her into a hug. Her face felt rather warm, but she hastened to return the embrace. As they pulled back, her heart skipped a beat. She almost missed it... "Come on, you should have dinner with Luna and me!"

"Luna... Lovegood?" Hannah inquired, recalling the name.

"Yeah, she's my room mate. She's still a little weird, but she's pretty fun to talk to!" He paused, then grinned slyly. "But I reckon you're more fun to talk to, Hannah." Hannah felt her face heating beyond its natural intensity. "C'mon, we should do some catching up!"

He took her hand and pulled her up. She smiled shyly, and nodded. "Okay, I will. What's for dinner?"

Neville shrugged. "Whatever we feel like." He pulled her up to a house that was not far from the lake they were sitting at. Hannah couldn't believe that she'd never noticed it when she came here. "You can help us decide, if you want."

Hannah wondered if she really wanted to do this. If rekindling the feelings for Neville that had felt so strong in her seventh year was a good idea. If talking to everybody was really in her interests.

But as she looked into Neville's smiling face, she felt a surge of- something. It felt similar to the roar of a lion, growling in her chest. She smiled again, hoping that the lion would stay with her for a long while- as a sort of personal talisman, if you will.

"That would be brilliant."

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 _Author's note: I could totally continue this story, but um... I dunno. If nobody's reading it, I probably won't bother. Romantic affection isn't my forte._

 _Hey, don't be afraid to drop a review, but don't feel pressured to do so. If you liked it, I'd love feedback, but no pressure ;)_

 _Hope you enjoyed, and I'll catch you later!_

 _~Candy Was Here._


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